Code Yellow
by HoneyBee31
Summary: AU InuKag Kagome is having a tough first day in the research deparment at West Hill Psychiatric Facility. With a dense officemate, a maze-like workplace, and a million emergency codes to learn, how much worse will it get when they call a Code Yellow?
1. Chapter 1

This story is a two parter that came to me when I was trying to learn the codes at my research placement. This chapter is pretty stand-alone, but I thought a second would help to finish it nicely. The rating might go up if I decide to include a lemon in the second chapter. As I am currently undecided, I thought I would rate it at T for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. As far as I know West Hill is a fictitious facility. If it does exist then I'm sure they abide by all the rules and guidelines set out for research.

* * *

Kagome shifted uncomfortably in her office chair. Blinking twice, she stared at the computer screen and attempted to absorb the words.

_Code Red._ _Fire in the building. After stating the code, specify the location and…_

Kagome groaned and let her head fall on her arms crossed on her desk. It was her first day as a graduate student in the research department at West Hill, a prestigious psychiatric facility in the heart of the city. Already she'd been rushed through a tour of the maze-like compound, introduced to a thousand faces, and now she was suffering through the tedium of online tutorials for the various code systems used.

A masculine chuckle drew her from her misery. "First day is tough, but it gets easier." Hojou, her officemate reassured her. He was in his third year of his degree and apparently his research was very promising. Handsome enough and obviously intelligent, many of her fellow students envied Kagome's desk situation.

"There are so many codes." She whined. She knew she sounded about five years old but she couldn't help it. "I'm never going to remember all the policies and procedures. Besides, way down here in the basement, we have no contact with patients. Why should I have to know this?"

Hojou laughed again. "You should probably read through the whole tutorial." Hojou gave her a thoughtful frown, and then sighed in resignation. "You know you can just skip ahead to the end though. There's an easy quiz." He leaned over the back of her office chair and tapped a hyperlink on the screen. "You'll still get the certificate that says you finished the course."

He moved away to his desk, rifling through the papers. Kagome felt the breath she didn't know she'd been holding refill her lungs. "Besides," Hojou looked over his shoulder at her, "I'll be here to help you if they ever do call the code." He grinned earnestly at her and resumed his paper shuffling.

Kagome frowned and returned to reading the tutorial. She hadn't gotten this far in her studies by relying on someone else to know the code. Pursing her lips and squinting her eyes, Kagome tried to shut down all outside thoughts. _C'mon girl. You can do this. Just pay attention._

A shaking on the back of her chair prompted her attention. She turned with an annoyed look to Hojou, who appeared to not notice her countenance. "I'm going to head home Higurashi." He checked his watch, "you shouldn't stay much later either. If you want to leave now, I'll walk you home?"

Internally, Kagome balked at the idea. Hojou was nice, but he tended to be a bit dense and he made her feel uncomfortable. "Um… no thanks." She fixed him with her brightest smile "I want to finish these codes so I can put it all behind me."

Hojou nodded and exited the small office. "I'll shut the door. Wouldn't want any of the…um…clients to wander in." Pulling the door shut snugly, Kagome could hear him whistle jauntily to himself as he approached the elevator that would take him topside.

Kagome let out a breath of relief before turning back to the computer. _Code Red. Fire. Okay, get yourself out of the building as fast as possible. What's there to know…maybe I'll just skip ahead…just on this one…_

Kagome grinned as she passed the end tutorial quiz with ease and printed her certificate of completion for the ethics board. _What's next?_

"Code Yellow. Privacy ward." Announced the PA system. Kagome started, and flicked an eye to her completed tutorials. Code Black, Blue, Green, and Red were completed, but no Code Yellow.

"Goddamn Hojou. Leaves for the one code I don't know …" with some quick mouse clicking, Kagome attempted to get back to the main page to select the Code Yellow Tutorial for some hints. Nothing doing, the internet was too slow. _Everyone was probably trying to read the same code information I am._

She tipped back in her chair to logic out some possibilities. _Code Yellow. What's yellow? Pee?_ Kagome snickered. Though she hadn't been on any of the ward floors, she knew some of the patients here were not on the best of terms with their bodily functions. _Probably not. What else would everyone need to be warned about? Chlorine Gas?_ Kagome's eyes flew open. Someone had leaked chlorine gas? Why the hell did they have that anyways?

Panicking, Kagome grabbed her keys and ID off her desk, but she staggered with uncertainty under the foreign situation. What to do? When her eyes strayed to her ID, she whapped herself in the head with relief. A cheat sheet of the codes was happily displayed on the back of the badge bearing her smiling face.

_Code Yellow._ She grinned _Missing Patient._

Well, that wasn't really her problem now was it? The research floors didn't house any patients, and certainly a psycho on the run would go to the ground floor, not down to the basement with no avenue for escape. She plopped down in her chair with relief. Glancing at the clock, she figured she'd might as well tune out the ruckus and get back to work.

Deeply entrenched in the mystery that was Code Purple, Kagome barely heard when the office door opened and closed. Without looking up, she called over to Hojou "Forget something?"

She heard the turning of the door lock as a response. Frowning at the monitor, she pushed with her legs to turn the chair. "Hojou, why are you locking the door? Is that part of…"

Turned all the way around, her eyes finally caught the intruder. Garbed in the soft blue of a patient, a man leaned heavily against the door, a syringe still sticking out of his left arm. Her eyes bugged out as they trailed over his sharp claws, his long fangs, and his…doggy ears? A snarling sound came from his mouth and his gold eyes sharpened on her in hostility.

She opened her mouth to scream. He flew at her with inhuman speed, wrapping an arm around her and pinning her body to his chest. One claw glinted in the fluorescent lighting, hovering dangerously over her jugular.

"Who are you?" She panted. He growled low in response, the claw making an indent in the delicate skin at her throat.

Kagome let out a low moan of terror and started trembling as her mind raced._ I only just figured out what Code Yellow was! I didn't want to be part of it! It's my first day!_ Feeling a surge of anger from the injustice, Kagome bit out at him "Leave me alone, you jerk." She wiggled, trying to make it clear she wanted to be released. "I don't have anything you'd want. Please just leave me alone."

His arms tightened and the growling grew louder. Kagome could make out his fangs in the corner of her eye and his expression did not look pleasant.

_Listen to him Kagome. He's a crazy person! With claws!_ Kagome allowed her body to go still but she tensed when she heard some odd breathing. _Is he…smelling me?_

With strength she didn't know she possessed, Kagome shoved her elbow into his gut. More out of surprise than pain he released her, and she scrambled away from him. Sprawled on the floor, she desperately sprung to her feet and raced towards the door. The handle jiggled uselessly, and just as she remembered that it had been locked, the crazy man was upon her.

Tossing her against the wall, he used his arms to pin her there. She glared at him defiantly. Despite the obvious tremor in her frame, she forced out "I am not afraid of you."

His gaze, which had been locked on the door, turned to stare at her. A smirk pulled at his lips and a fang slipped out between them. He got uncomfortably close in her face, his narrowed golden eyes causing her thoughts to scatter like dropped marbles.

His ears twitched twice and his gaze shot from her to the door. A moment later Kagome also heard the noise. It was the telltale clatter of high heels on the tile outside her office. She could hear hushed female voices that increased with clarity as they neared the door.

"I can't believe they're making us do this. You know it's just because we're the newest students. Code Yellow is a waste of time down here." One of the voices, Kagome recognized as Yuka, complained. She would bet the farm the other sets of shoes were Ayumi and Eri. Those three were always together.

"Relax. We just have to walk up and down the hall, make sure all the doors are closed and locked, and then put tape on them." Ayumi's comforting tone replied. "Besides, I'm glad to do a favour for our coworkers."

"You would be…" sniped Eri. "Quit gripping my arm so tight Yuka."

"I can't help it, it's creepy down here. And the escapee was from the Privacy Ward." The slight quaver of fear was surprising, as Yuka always seemed so brave. "Besides, where is Kagome? Shouldn't she be helping?"

Kagome's eyes widened with hope. She flicked her gaze around trying to find a way free. They would save her! Never mind they were three comparatively small girls against one snarling…dog-man. Forget that, she could do this! Eyes trailing down, she calculated if her foot could connect with a delicate part of his anatomy.

Before she could even swing he brought his body flush with hers, crushing her against the office wall and restricting all movement. His snarl disturbed the bangs on her forehead and she was pretty sure she heard him growl "Bitch."

The door handled jiggled again as the girls tried to open the office. There was some incoherent mumbling then a sharp rap and three voices calling her name. Kagome felt the tears forming as hope left her. She couldn't respond. She couldn't move. She was trapped, and help was just on the other side of the door.

"Guess she left." Ayumi sounded confused "But I would have thought she'd stop by to say goodbye."

Eri's response was sly "I saw Hojou leaving earlier." Kagome could already picture the look on her face "Maybe they left together. I heard some other grad students say he was already interested in her."

More growling issued from her captor, but astonishingly it was directed at the door and not towards her. Kagome stilled in confusion, and he turned his head to look at her with a matching expression. This startled gold gaze was very different from the looks she had been thus far receiving, but that didn't make it any easier to meet. Why did it feel like this guy was trying to look through her, rather than at her?

"Well anyways the door is locked." The sound of masking tape ripping came through the door. "So I guess we just tape it up and call it a day. Although I think Kagome needs to get her vent looked at, I can hear some weird growling noise."

Her captor's face bunched into an annoyed glare at the comment and Kagome surprised herself from having to stifle a laugh. She couldn't help it, he looked so cute with his ears pinned back like that.

_Cute?! Kagome, get a grip. Now is not the time to be checking this guy out._ She eyed the ears in speculation. _Although, the ears are cute. I think I want to…touch them. _Luckily her arms were too busy being squashed between her and the guy, so resisting the temptation was a relatively easy feat.

Their voices receded as the girls returned to their office. Upon their exit, her captor let out a breath of relief and stepped away from her. Kagome rested her hand on the wall, the other on her chest, in order to get her breath back and to calm down. Surprisingly, she didn't feel very afraid. _I guess this is what they meant when they told me I stayed calm under pressure._

Her captor prowled the small, shared office. Kagome wasn't too sure what he was looking for or what he expected to find. He ripped the phone and internet wires out of the wall, looking satisfied at his destruction. Kagome stared at the ruined chunk of wall dangling from the chords in disbelief. _He did it so easily. Shit. I'm dead._

Backing up against the wall, Kagome let her shaking knees falter and she fell down on her bum. He looked over at her curiously, before shrugging and hopping up on the filing cabinets in the opposite corner. Sitting with his arms and legs crossed, he glared down at her from his upper perch. Kagome sighed.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

They had only been sitting there 20 minutes and it felt like an eternity. From her captor's total lack of movement the fear had left Kagome but the adrenaline remnants made her ache to move. However if she so much as uncrossed her legs, his sharp gaze went back to her and she could see his muscles tense in a pounce. Sighing, Kagome returned to picking at a pull in her sweater.

No one had been by to check in awhile. The Code message was still playing through the PA, but no further instructions had been given.

_How long am I going to be stuck here?_ Kagome shifted in agitation. A growl from the corner drew another sigh from her lips. Surrendering to the situation, Kagome turned to look at the dog-man and gave him a friendly smile. He looked startled and his spine stiffened in surprise before his customary scowl returned to his face.

"Look, I'm Kagome." She gave him a little wave. "And since you seem to intend to keep me in here, how about you do me a favour and talk with me a bit?"

He growled again, but it sounded more…desperate than intimidating. Was he still worried about being heard? "There's no one there." Kagome was getting frustrated "I'm bored okay and you're the only one here so you better start talking, Dog-boy." She clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise. Did she really just call him that? _You're an idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!_

Glaring at her, he opened and closed his mouth a few times. One of the times a strangled noise came out, an uncertain sound. Kagome couldn't help the giggle that came from such an odd sound from such an intimidating man. He flushed and turned his nose up at her, letting out a "Keh, Bitch." He looked pleased that he had produced the term and his smirk returned, goading her.

For once Kagome's self preservation kicked in and she didn't rise to the bait. She was always getting in trouble for arguing with the wrong people._ I'd say this is more than trouble. This could be deadly._

But she didn't really believe that either. The more time she spent with him, the less afraid she became. He was very boy-like in his manners. Certainly rude, but nothing hostile. Kagome felt her heart soften a bit and the tension leave her shoulders. She would make it out of this.

A gurgle broke through the awkward silence and Kagome let herself laugh a bit. The blush returned to his features, which Kagome noticed were finer than she had expected. With that face and that hair, she might even call him handsome. _Certainly better looking than Hojou._

"Wha…what're you…lookin' at, bitch?" his voice was rough and husky, like he had just woken up. He cleared his throat a few times and glared at her while rubbing his noisy stomach.

She shrugged. "Nothing." Kagome gingerly rose to her feet, careful to avoid a head rush. Looking down to brush off the dirt, she started with surprise as he appeared soundlessly in front of her. The size of his body was intimidating at this proximity and she felt a touch of nervousness returning. Squelching it, she straightened and tipped her head up to meet his gaze. "And my name isn't bitch. It's Kagome." She poked him on each syllable "Ka.Go.Me."

He grabbed the offending digit and glared at her. "Whatever. Sit back down, wench."

Kagome let out a huff of frustration and pushed him away. Ignoring his indignant "Hey!" Kagome walked over to her desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. Riffling for a minute, she smiled with success at finding her prize. Gripping the granola bar, she returned to where her confused captor stood and held it out to him.

"What's this?" He bent to bring his face close to it, and yet his hand made no movement to take it from her. Sighing, Kagome grabbed one of his hands and smacked the bar into it. He stared at her in surprise, his hand remaining as wide open as his mouth as he gaped. When the bar looked like it was going to fall out, Kagome closed his hand for herself.

"It's a granola bar." She continued as he decided the bar was more interesting than her and began sniffing at it. "You eat it."

He eyed it suspiciously, sending glances between her and the foil wrapped bar. Sniffing it again, he slowly brought it up to his mouth. When Kagome saw he was seriously going to eat the foil, she shouted at him "What are you doing?"

He recoiled in shock, dropping the bar and flying back to the top of the filing cabinet. He shrunk away from her as she stared at him before he caught himself and uncoiled to glare at her.

Understanding that was not a good reaction to comment on, Kagome picked up the bar and opened the foil. "You need to open it first." She explained, showing him the exposed granola before she slowly approached the cabinet. "Now you can eat it."

He plucked it out of her fingers, sniffing it a few times before noisily eating it while completely ignoring her. "hmph" Kagome glared at him "You're welcome."

Once he was finished, he brought each of his clawed fingers up to lick it. One motion caused the syringe to jostle in his arm and he looked at it in shock. Before Kagome could blink, he was back in her face.

"What the fuck is this bitch?" he barked at her. _Well I'm so glad he's talking now so he can swear at me instead of just growling._ Kagome restrained the urge to roll her eyes.

"Why are you yelling at me?" She resisted the urge to lean away "How should I know? I'm guessing they stuck it in your arm while you were escaping."

He advanced on her, causing her to stumble back against the desk. "They stuck it in me" his lips drew back in a sneer "Or you did?"

Kagome let out a huff "Does it look like I have some of that stuff lying around here, dog-boy?" He glared at the nickname but his eyes fell out of focus and started darting around the room. Shaking his head, he leveled his glare back at her.

"I have a name bitch. It's…" He swayed uneasily on his feet. "It's…." Kagome reached out her hands to stabilize him and he automatically recoiled from her touch. The over compensation caused him to stumble backwards slightly but Kagome caught his arms to hold him upright. His eyes were clouding over "…Kagome…? What's happening…?" He toppled over onto her, his dead weight causing her to fall heavily to her knees. His body slid down hers and his head fell to her lap.

In his new position, his arms wrapped lazily around her middle and his cheek rubbed against her stomach. "Kagome…" he breathed as he snuffled at her shirt before his whole body relaxed.

Kagome stiffened in surprise. "Hey…" she pulled his arms, shook his torso, and poked at his cheek. "Hey…you. Wake up!" Nothing would wake him up, but his chest still rose and fell with the steadiness of breathing.

Looking heavenward, Kagome sighed. _Why me? It's my first day and I have a psycho patient sleeping in my lap._ The peaceful look on his normally morose face was distracting and Kagome couldn't help staring at him now that he was asleep. Feeling something pull on her sweater, Kagome swiveled her upper body to see something on his wrist caught in her knit.

Pulling it free, and ruining her sweater, Kagome eyed the hospital bracelet. _A name!_ Her face brightened, though she wasn't sure why she was so excited to learn her captor's name. He certainly didn't use hers. _Hanyou Inuyasha. What an odd name._ She looked at him. _He is a pretty odd guy. Guess it suits him._ _Privacy ward? What's he doing there?_

The Privacy Ward was so named as patients there needed to be isolated due to their…afflictions. It had been well impressed upon Kagome that it was dangerous for untrained staff to enter those corridors, and such an act was heavily discouraged from all levels of management.

_Inuyasha didn't seem crazy._ Rethinking his behaviour, she amended _Okay maybe crazy but not THAT crazy._ Already forgetting that he had essentially threatened to kill her on multiple occasions, Kagome frowned as she tried to riddle out his behaviour.

_Maybe he has one of those psychoses that only show in certain situations? A split personality, where one is dangerous and the other boyish? Possible. _Recalling the incident with the granola bar, Kagome continued her attempted diagnosis _Well he obviously has some paranoia issues. Schizophrenia?_ When she went to bring her hand up to tap her lips in thought, Kagome realized she had been softly petting his ears in her lap, an unconscious habit she'd picked up from stroking Buyo all these years.

Since he hadn't stirred, Kagome grinned to herself as she diverted her attention to the temptation that was puppy ears. She played with them for a minute, but without any reaction besides regular breathing, the game was rather dull. Her attention shifted to his long hair and she slid her fingers through it. It wasn't very well cared for and her digits became ensnarled in a quite a few knots. _If I can ever move again, I'm going to brush out this hair_. Despite his negligence, it was still beautiful. Kagome glared at him in envy, her thick hair had to be constantly tamed to look half as good.

Grumbling again about how unfair her life was, Kagome didn't hear the footsteps in the hall until they were right near her door. A far cry from the clattering high heels, these shoes had the solid step of business shoes.

_Guards!_ Kagome's face lit in elation. Flicking another glance down at her captor, although it was hard to call him that anymore, Kagome opened her mouth to call out. But something choked the words in her throat.

"Why did we get stuck searching the basement?" A deep male voice complained. "He's obviously not here. Not even a hanyou would be stupid enough to run below ground when he was trying to escape."

Another man answered, "Just following orders Bankotsu. Besides, it's kind of peaceful down here. None of the screams in the Privacy Ward."

The other, presumably Bankotsu, chuckled, "Who do you think you're kidding Jakotsu, you love the screams." Kagome felt a chill brushing across her. "Those fucking Youkai, think they're so tough. Well we brought them to their knees. We show them their place in this world." A punch against the outside wall shook the one Kagome currently rested against, causing her to start in surprise and barely withhold a shocked gasp.

"It's no fun without Inuyasha around." Jakotsu made a pouting voice "His blood is so delicious. I can't wait until we get him back…his punishment is going to go on for days."

Kagome's eyes widened in shock. _Days…_she mouthed to herself. She hadn't even noticed she was clutching at Inuyasha until she felt her hands ache where they were fisting the fabric. _How could they? How could anyone…?_

"Be silent, you fools." A cold female voice cut through the two men's devious planning. "This isn't a secure area."

Bankotsu made a sound of disbelief "Aw c'mon Kikyou." He teased "You're always so uptight. Relax. We sent everyone out of their office an hour ago. All the doors are taped. There's no one around."

Jakotsu chimed in "No one is coming down to this basement without a good reason. Besides, once the message came out that it was the Privacy Ward, everyone was practically running to the safety zone."

Kagome groaned. Safety zone? There was a safety zone? Right now she could be huddled with her friends, sipping some calming hot chocolate and whispering about how annoying it was to be trapped there. Instead she was cowering in her own office, protecting a man she didn't know from people who were supposed to be her colleagues.

"It is still unsafe. One of the ward nurses managed to inject him with the serum that subdues his Youkai, so I can't sense him." Making a sound of obvious frustration Kikyou started walking away "I'll see if I can't find a…volunteer to sniff him out."

Remaining still until Kikyou left, the two men's footsteps quickly followed hers. Kagome let out of a sigh of relief and looked down at Inuyasha still huddled in her lap. Only he wasn't asleep anymore.

Finally allowing a noise of surprise, Kagome flung her body against the wall as she met the violet gaze of the now black haired Inuyasha. He stared at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable but she knew better than to look away. Seemingly satisfied, he turned away to glare at the door before rising unsteadily to his feet. Kagome shot up beside him, ignoring the protest in her sleeping legs to stabilize him. He brushed her off and staggered over to the filing cabinet, pulling himself up and back into his cross-legged formation. Kagome sighed and fell back into her office chair.

"Inuyasha?" she ventured. His head turned slightly towards her in acknowledgment. "What does…Hanyou mean?"

He stiffened and turned away sharply, upsetting his balance with the sudden nature of the movement. After a few minutes of silence, Kagome figured that no response was coming. Sighing she let her head hit the backrest.

Today was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Kagome had grown tired of sitting and had decided to lie down on the floor, far from the PA speaker still droning Code Yellow. Lying on her back like this always worked when she was stressed out in her undergrad. Just the simple knowledge that there was a solid earth beneath her was enough to calm her down. She looked unseeingly at the ceiling, her mind awhirl with what to do.

She obviously couldn't send Inuyasha back there. That much was clear. But would it cost her this graduate placement if they found out? Although, she wasn't so sure she wanted it anymore. To be associated with a facility like this? She hadn't even wanted to do grad school anyways. Mama would understand if she pursued something else.

"Mama…" she whispered to herself. Kagome doubted this incident was being reported on the news. Her mother would be frantic with worry, as this was probably the longest the two of them had gone without speaking. She always called if she was going to be late. Souta…his soccer practice would be over and he would be back at the shrine. Would he be worried too? Gramps would fret in his own way, using an ancient story to explain her sudden disappearance. The thought of her grandfather's crazy stories brought a smile to her face.

"What are you smiling at, wench?" Inuyasha asked while coming down off his filing cabinet. He fell into a defensive crouch and his head tipped to the side in curiosity. Even though his look was completely human, the impression of curious puppy was not difficult to create.

Kagome tipped her head away from looking at him to stare back up at the ceiling. "Nothing."

He growled in frustration at her, and then lay down on the floor in the same way. He was far enough away that they weren't touching, but Kagome felt warmth in her chest just the same.

He craned his neck to look around, but all that was there was the spotty sub-ceiling. "I don't see anything."

Giving in, after all he was pretty cute, not to mention persistent, Kagome confessed "I was thinking about the crazy stories my grandfather tells."

"Grandfather…" Inuyasha tried the word out. "He is…family?"

Kagome made a sound of assent. "I live with him and my mother and brother at a shrine." Her smile turned wistful. She'd only been locked in this office for a few hours and she already missed it. How pathetic.

"Family…" He seemed rather fixated on the idea. "A shrine huh. Does that make you some kind of priestess?"

Priestess came out of his mouth in a funny way. _Is he making fun of me? A boy with dog-ears is mocking me._ "I'll have you know I'm currently working on a graduate degree. I am not a priestess, I am a scientist." _Never mind the fact I'm blowing my graduate degree and don't really want to be a scientist._

Inuyasha scoffed. "I'm not sure which I hate more, Priestesses or scientists."

Kagome felt anger swill in her blood and she sat up to yell at him. "Well I'm sorry Hanyou Inuyasha if you are so upset with my life. Maybe you should just leave and remove yourself from it if it bothers you so much."

"I ain't leaving until I stop being a pathetic human and the Code is over." He sat up too, his torso still allowing him to tower over her. The blue top did nothing to hide the wiry muscles underneath as he leant on his forearms to glare at her. He raised a fist that, while devoid of claws, was still intimidating, "And never call me Hanyou."

She impatiently pushed his hand away from her face. "I think we're passed this whole 'you're-going-to-hurt-me' thing. I know you're not going to do it." He looked surprised and then scowled at her but said nothing to the contrary. " It says Hanyou on your ID bracelet. I thought maybe it was your family name?" She was grasping at straws, hoping for more information.

He snorted. "I guess you could say that."

When nothing further was offered, Kagome puffed out air. _This guy is the most frustrating person on the planet!_ She tried to gather her unraveling patience. "Well then what is it?"

He looked as though he was debating answering. Mentally Kagome cheered. "It's complicated, and you're probably not going to believe me" Inuyasha started. When he opened his mouth to keep talking, Kagome held up a hand to silence him.

"Hang on." She lied back down, cushioning her head by folding her hands beneath it. He tilted his head in confusion. "Okay, go ahead."

Frowning, Inuyasha copied her pose so he also stared at the ceiling. "So…there are Youkai…"

Kagome frowned. He was right she didn't believe him. "Look I know you might not want to tell me the truth, but c'mon. My gramps has been prattling on about Youkai for years. No one has seen one in centuries."

"That's because they've all been locked up in here." Inuyasha looked both smug and sorrowful at the same time. "You heard those guards. Guess what's hidden in the Privacy Ward."

Remembering the conversation of the guards, even though it was definitely something she wanted to forget, Kagome admitted that they had talked about Youkai. "Okay, well for argument's sake let's say that there are Youkai…" she would concede the point, if only to find out just how far gone he was. It was difficult to debate with a man who was previously sporting dog-ears.

"Anyways a couple hundreds of years ago all the Youkai started fighting each other for land. They were getting nervous because humans were taking over everything and would quickly overwhelm them. Instead of banding together, they fought each other like a bunch of idiots and were quickly defeated." Kagome rolled to her side so she could better see him. His eyes were lost in the past, unseeing of her position change. "Most Youkai that were left went into hiding but were rounded up and pushed into jails that a traitor Youkai had designed to contain them."

"How…long have you been locked up?" Kagome was almost scared to ask the question. Had he been away from the sunlight for centuries?

"Not too long. I'm not actually that old. I was only caught about five years ago because of…" his hands clenched into fists "…I was betrayed…"

"Oh…" Kagome felt bad for pushing him into this, it obviously caused him pain. Rolling back onto her back, she considered changing the subject.

"Anyways, before you distracted me, bitch, I was going to tell you what a Hanyou was." She knew he was doing it to get a rise out of her and she obliged by rolling back onto her side to glare at him. Kagome saw him glance at her from the corner of his eye, making sure she was paying attention to him before he started talking again. "A Hanyou is a half-demon."

Some how that wasn't as momentous as Kagome thought it was going to be. _What's the big deal? Half-demon? What's the other half?_ Eying Inuyasha's current male form, Kagome could have smacked herself for even having to ask. _Half-human, half-demon? How?_

Inuyasha's lips turned in a bittersweet smile. "My…mother…" his hands came up to toy with the hem of his shirt. The movement was so boyish that Kagome felt the need to reassure him, so she scooted closer and laid a comforting hand on his arm. "She was a supporter of the Youkai, even though she was in a powerful human family. She hid my father and I guess they fell in love and…yeah…" He blushed and turned away, but not so far that her hand would be dislodged.

"Oh…" Kagome wasn't quite sure what to make of this. The story of his parents was interesting, but it was all a bit to take at once. Her curiosity was chomping at the bit about what betrayal had led to his incarceration, but one look at him and she knew she had worn him out.

Feeling the odd need to be near to him, Kagome was too emotionally fatigued to argue with the impulse and she scooted even closer to rest her head on his arm. She felt his muscles tensing and the sound of his heart echoed through where her ear pressed against him. When he made no indication of moving her, Kagome let her body go slack and her mind fuzz out. Her last thought before falling asleep was that this day couldn't last long enough.

* * *

Kagome awoke, groggy and uncomfortable with a terrible crick in her back from sleeping on the floor. _The floor? What am I doing on the floor?_ She shifted around to try to see what was happening but it was pitch black in her office. _The auto lights._ She groaned, it must be really late if the energy-saving lights had already shut themselves off. Her pillow was unhappy with all her movements and made a sound of protest that was muffled from where it was buried in her hair. Still half asleep, Kagome debated just drifting off again when she noticed it. Or rather, she noticed the absence of it.

"Inuyasha…" she poked at his chest. More grumbling came from above her head. "The Code is over."

His grumbling ceased and he became still, waiting to see if the announcement occurred again. When none was forthcoming, Kagome sat up.

"Are you… yourself again?" Kagome peered into the dark, trying to find his face. When she came in contact with his hair, she held in against her fingers for the contrast. Still black.

"Still human." Inuyasha sat up, close enough to her that his movements caused a breeze.

_Oh man, how much longer will we be trapped here?_ Kagome stretched her arms back and winced at the pops in her spine. _Well at least when he is Hanyou I will be able to see his hair again. That iridescent silver would shine in anything_. Kagome's eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet.

"Inuyasha!" She hissed in an excited whisper. "I have an idea!" She bent down to find him but apparently he was already on his way up and he smacked his head on her chin.

"Ow. Fuck." Kagome could barely hear his swearing over her own head spinning. "Kagome? Are you okay?" She felt careful hands on her forehead, reverently touching the skin. Her eyes slid shut as his touch trailed down the curves of her face. She could feel the fingers trembling as they passed over her eyelids, toying with the long eyelashes before continuing down. They hesitated ever so briefly on her lips, the pad of his index finger lingering slightly after the rest, before his hand found her chin. Sliding his fingers along her jaw line, he apparently inspected the damage while Kagome felt a shiver of excitement.

_What the hell is the matter with me? Could this happen at a possibly worse moment?_ Sighing happily, she drowned in the moment before reaching up and ceasing his hands. "Inuyasha, I have an idea."

His fingers tightened slightly on hers and Kagome couldn't suppress her grin. She wondered if he could see it in the dark. "We should get you out of here while you're still human."

"Keh, that's a stupid idea, wench." His voice changed direction as he spoke, his head turning to the side in thought. "If they shoot at me, I'll have no chance. At least if I'm hanyou I can take a few bullets." She felt him tense his hands and a few of his joints pop "and at least take a few of them out with me."

Suppressing a shiver at the sound of his excitement Kagome barreled forward "But if we leave when you're human, maybe they won't even shoot at you?"

"Kagome, they know what my human form looks like. I change this way…every once and awhile…" Kagome frowned at the obvious obscuring of some information, but now wasn't the time to dwell on his lack of trust in her.

"Listen, I can't even see you in this dark, so they probably can't either. You can sneak out while you're still like this and then when you transform out of here you can run away." Kagome was getting excited. This was honestly sounding like a good plan. Well not really a good plan, but the best that she could come up with.

"…I don't like sneaking around. I ain't a coward. I want to fight." Inuyasha sounded conflicted. Kagome tightened her grip on his hands, stepping closer so he could feel her body heat.

"You can't help the other Youkai if you're dead. Get out of here and work on a way to set them all free." Impulsively she pressed a kiss to his palm, trying anything to convince him this was the right thing to do. He hissed in a sharp breath, his body tensed to run but his hands held tighter.

"I can feel my Youkai stirring." He shifted with indecision. "Alright, we'll start sneaking but if we don't make it out in time then I'm letting the change happen."

"What do you mean, we?" Kagome was confused. "Your odds are better if you are alone. With the two of us we're easier to detect."

Using her hands, Inuyasha yanked her towards him. Falling against his body, Inuyasha crushed her to him. "Forget it, bitch. You're leaving with me." Kagome was glad it was dark so he wouldn't see her incredulous expression. "If they found out you were hiding me…and they would find out…you're so innocent…"

Kagome shivered. Suddenly losing her graduate placement didn't seem so bad. But she also realized with startling clarity that if she had to do that for Inuyasha's freedom, she would. A man she had only met today. She would go through anything for him, if only to see him free. The power of the emotion stole her breath, and she forcibly pushed it to the back of her mind to focus on the task at hand.

"Then we'll get out together." Kagome nodded against his shoulder, giving him a quick squeeze around the middle before withdrawing.

He grabbed her hand. "Let's go Kagome. We don't have much time."

Inuyasha popped the lock but Kagome could barely hear it over the sound of her heart pounding. Inuyasha closed the door carefully behind them, trying to make the tape look like it hadn't been broken.

It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea where the exit was.

Inuyasha seemed to come to the same conclusion "Where the fuck are we?" he whispered out in desperation.

"I don't know…" Kagome started trembling. It was easy to be brave in the safety of her office, but out in the hallway was a different story. Where the hell were they? Were there people with guns waiting for them in the dark?

Inuyasha suddenly pushed her against the wall. "I hear someone."

Kagome tried to see the office door to get them back in but it was no good. She could hear the footsteps too, and Inuyasha tensed. She heard his hands pop in the dark and she threw up a silent prayer he wouldn't need to fight. A flashlight beam shimmered down the hallway, the lone owner of the shoes seemed sure of their path.

As the flashlight trailed along the wall and neared their position, Kagome knew they had to cover Inuyasha's face and patient outfit incase it was a guard that would recognize him. Throwing herself on him, she grabbed his head by his human ears and forced his mouth down to hers.

The kiss started as a part of the plan but it sure didn't stay that way. Inuyasha's clenched fists opened and his hands threaded into her hair, tipping her head back as he stole her breath and plundered her mouth. Kagome barely withheld a moan as she took in the heat of his mouth, his soft, warm lips delightful against hers.

She fell from Cloud Nine like a rock when they were interrupted. "…Higurashi?"

Kagome whirled around to greet Hojou. Inuyasha was cast into her shadow by the flashlight that Hojou had thoughtfully pointed at the ground near her feet rather than at her face. "Hojou!" she could have kissed him, were she not sure Inuyasha would have torn him to shreds, human or not.

"What are you still doing here?" He looked with confusion at both of them but no recognition dawned on Hojou's face when he looked at Inuyasha. Kagome's heart leapt with hope.

"They called the code…and I didn't know what to do…so I was just hiding and then…um…Souta here found me and he was…calming me down…" Kagome could have smacked herself. Lying wasn't her strong suit, especially under pressure.

"Isn't Souta your brother's name?" Hojou looked even more confused then before. Kagome was losing her patience. _He finds me making out in the basement after hours of Code Yellow and this is what he wants to talk about!_

"Yes it is a strange coincidence." Deciding to steer the conversation her way, Kagome struck her best pleading pose "It's still my first day Hojou and I'm afraid I don't know how to get out in the dark. Could you please help us out?"

"That's why I came down here Higurashi. To find you." He looked proud of himself. "Your friends told me you never turned up at the safety zone and I knew it was because you hadn't studied the code yet so I came to save you."

"No one saves Kagome but me." Kagome felt Inuyasha forcibly grab her hand. Hojou's face fell a bit, but Kagome had to salvage the situation before it became ridiculous.

"Thank you very much for coming Hojou." She fixed him with another smile that seemed to remove his despondent posture. She heard the startings of a growl from Inuyasha and squeezed his hand as hard as she could to get him to shut up. "Now if you wouldn't mind…I'm kind of tired of being in here…"

"Then I shall lead you to safety." He grinned again and started walking. The journey took longer than expected through the pitch black and there were so many twists and turns, they never would have found their way out were it not for Hojou.

"Hojou." The cold female voice at the open stairwell made Kagome and Inuyasha freeze with recognition.

"Kikyou." A pained whisper came from Inuyasha, one that Kagome decided to analyze later. Kikyou frowned into the dark, trying to see their faces. Hers was a thing of cold beauty, illuminated eerily by Hojou's flashlight.

"Did you find the girl?" Kikyou's face looked pinched with stress.

"Yeah, I found Higurashi." Hojou glanced back at them. "And some guy was with her."

Kikyou's eyes widened. "A man, you say."

Kagome shoved Inuyasha into the dark, hoping that Hojou was dense enough to pull this off. "What man?" She asked in her most innocent voice. This would be okay; it technically wasn't a lie, since Inuyasha wasn't really a man…

"Souta. He was with us Higurashi." Hojou turned to look at her, clearly doubting her sanity. A nagging hint of failure tugged at her but she sallied forth.

"Souta is my brother Hojou. I am sure he's still at the shrine. Perhaps you were confused by the dark?" While Hojou scratched his head in confusion Kagome sent an appealing look to Kikyou, who met the glance with an appraising eyebrow. When her gaze flickered to Hojou and back, a judgmental frown on her features. Kagome hoped Kikyou had heard how dense he was and was trying to weigh who was telling the truth.

"Perhaps you are right Higurashi, it has been a long day." Hojou smiled at both women, though only Kagome returned it.

"You're telling me." She groaned.

"Take her out of here. Quickly. I have better things to do with my time than baby-sit graduate students." Kikyou snapped, scaling the stairs. She paused after the first step to look meaningfully into the dark. "I am sorry, Inuyasha."

Kagome's blood froze in her chest and she felt Inuyasha tense where he had moved close to her in the dark. She stilled, waiting for the other woman to make a move. When Kikyou just smiled sadly and kept walking, Kagome finally let out a pent up breath, her hand resting on her heart. She felt Inuyasha tapping at her arm and she reached up to grip his hand.

They trailed after Hojou a few steps, keeping Inuyasha in the dark and Kagome barely in the light. When the city lights became visible through a door, Kagome felt her heart leap. They were almost out.

At the top of the stair, Hojou let out a breath of relief. When he turned back to look at her, the lights from outside made Inuyasha was clearly visible. "Higurashi, who is that?"

Kagome gave him a withering glare "That's Souta. I already introduced you." He opened his mouth to ask more questions but she pushed past him in her impatience "Can't you leave him alone, we're finally outside."

Kagome stepped through the threshold without hesitation, the fresh air and freedom making her giddy. She made it. She let out a laugh of pure happiness. Looking over at Inuyasha, who gazed with wonder up at the sky, she smiled. More importantly, he had made it.

When Kagome started to feel the scratch of claws against the hand that held his, she knew it was time to go. Tugging her hand, Inuyasha grinned and took off in a run, pulling a stumbling Kagome along behind him into the woods that surrounded the property.

Deciding they were far enough away, Inuyasha stopped abruptly causing Kagome to crash into his back.

They stared at each other for a minute. Finally Kagome broke. "We made it." Tears started to stream down her face. "I can't believe we made it."

Inuyasha looked overwhelmed, and he crushed a giddy Kagome to him, a quiet laugh rumbling from his chest. "We made it." He whispered.

Content to just be squished together for a moment, the couple stood in the woods quietly. Eventually Inuyasha slacked his grip and Kagome pulled back, wiping her wet eyes with the sleeves of her thoroughly ruined sweater.

"So what now?" She tipped her face up to Inuyasha. He looked didn't look nearly as puzzled as her.

"Now…I leave you." He looked sad but determined, his eyes soft but his jaw hard.

"Leave me? What happened to sticking together?" Kagome was starting to feel hysterical. She…cared about him and he was just going to leave her?

"Kagome, it's going to be really dangerous for me for awhile and I can't watch out for both of us." She looked away in dejection. He gripped her hands to bring her close again. "Please…I would…but…" Kagome sighed. She was in way over her head with this one. Inuyasha had trusted her to get out of the facility. Maybe she should trust him now that they were out. His golden eyes pleaded with her and his ears were trained on her, waiting for her answer.

"I'm going to be waiting for you." Kagome answered, smiling when Inuyasha looked startled. "So you had better come back for me or I will be the one to hunt you down."

His gaping mouth reformed into a smirk. "You can count on it, wench."

With false anger she yelled at him "Wench! Why you…" the rest of her angry tirade would never be heard as Inuyasha crushed her mouth with his, their noses jarring against each other. Turning her head to make the kiss more comfortable, Kagome allowed herself to get lost in the sensation, knowing she wouldn't feel it again for a while.

When he pulled away, Kagome felt like he was taking her heart with him. "I'm coming back for you, Kagome."

Giving her hand one last squeeze, Inuyasha took off into the woods. Kagome sighed as she watched him disappear. She remained in the spot where he left her awhile after he had gone. Taking a sharp breath through her nose, Kagome nodded to herself and turned back to the facility.

Bundling her sweater tighter around her frame, she began the short trudge back. Midway there, she ran into her three frantic friends who spoke over each other trying to talk to her. It didn't matter, Kagome was unable to process their chattering for she was too busy making plans. She would have to stay at the facility for a few months, just to make the incident look less suspicious, and then maybe she should try her hand at law school. She had a feeling the world was going to need some Youkai experts in the government sometime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the second part to Code Yellow. It's different from the first, but I am just trying to tie up a few loose ends before I say goodbye to this story.

Read and enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

* * *

Kagome sighed as she entered her home, grabbing the remote she always kept by the door and switching the news. She always left it on, every evening, hoping for news of Inuyasha. Though the news was certainly full of stories about the youkai, no images of Inuyasha had ever appeared. From the current reports, today didn't sound promising either. _Another day without Inuyasha. Another evening alone._

Kagome pulled her hair free from the bun that she always kept it in at work. Having graduated from law school just a year ago, she now worked a grunt job at the government offices. She had chosen to work for this politician because he was the most sympathetic to the youkai cause. Well, sympathetic might be the wrong word, as Sesshomaru had nothing that even vaguely resembled emotion. Most of his workers were scared to death of him, and there were rampant rumors that he was a youkai himself. Though he neither confirmed nor denied the accusations, any who were brave enough to ask quickly became too frightened to step a toe out of line again.

Kagome didn't know why, but she wasn't afraid of him. He had shown no particular interest in her, at least not until after one of his staff's social functions. She'd accidentally run into him on her way to the dessert table and at the time he had given no indication of even noticing her, nor her profuse apologies. However, the next day she was personally summoned to his office by the strange toad-man that followed him everywhere. Sesshomaru had asked a relatively routine question she was sure Jaken could have answered, but he made her sit in a chair that had his suit jacket draped over it, making her feel uncomfortable. This had been occurring pretty much every day since then, so Kagome was getting used to being around him.

Her colleagues were not impressed with all the attention she was receiving. It was indeed a lonely life Kagome now led. Her old friends still worked at West Hill, though the facility was staggering to keep its reputation after the youkai were freed. The last news exposé about it had not been particularly complimentary and a criminal case was currently being filed against the upper management at West Hill, including Kikyou. Since Kagome had lent her observations about what happened in the facility to the investigation, her friends were encouraged to not have contact with her while the trial was going on. That had been fine, she didn't have anything to say to them anyways.

Her thoughts returned, as they often did, to the mysterious half-demon that appeared in her office one day and changed her life. But as Kagome grew up, she came to understand how little she actually knew about him. All these years and no word from him, she was beginning to lose hope. Would he ever come back to her?

Some days she managed to convince herself that it was only the intensity of the situation that had made her act that way. That what she felt for him was artificial, that she would get over it.

And yet she knew, in her heart of hearts, that Inuyasha would always be part of her. So for now she worked and watched the news, hoping to catch a sight of the man she loved.

* * *

She should have known it would happen when she least expected it. She should have also known that it would have something to do with those goddamn codes.

Although this one was decidedly more dangerous than Code Yellow.

"Code Black. Politician's Office."

Kagome blinked up from the computer she was working on, tucked away in an upper floor library. She had been researching the ancient laws that still existed about youkai, trying to find which ones they needed to fight in their campaign. It was a little used library on a little used floor, and Kagome had never liked being there.

She liked it even less now. _Why do I never learn these stupid codes! You'd think I would have learned they are important._ Kagome sighed. The ancient computer she currently used chugged at too slow a speed to handle the LAN connection, so it only held information relevant to this library. No code help there.

Kagome turned over her ID, optimistically hoping for more information there. Apparently this cheat sheet thing was a standard idea, for her government employee badge also had the colour-coded information on the back.

_Code Black._ Kagome's face went pale. _Bomb Threat._

Well scary as that was, Kagome figured that this protocol would be easy to figure out. _I'm guessing the idea is…get out as fast as possible?_ So Kagome quickly stood from her computer chair and started to walk over to the door. _It's probably just a drill. They have to do these every once and awhile_. Feeling reassured, and hopeful they might have some hot chocolate at whatever safety zone existed, Kagome was startled when she also heard the fire alarm.

_A fire, at the same time?_ That seemed unlikely. The building wasn't that big and she definitely would have smelled the smoke. Someone probably pulled it to get people to evacuate faster. _Someone would only do that if there really was a bomb._ Kagome picked up the pace. Her blood ran cold when the door wouldn't open.

She pulled on the handle desperately. _No! No!_ But she knew what had happened. These doors were fire proofed to protect the rare volumes they contained from possible fire or water damage and set to automatically lock when the alarm was pulled. _That won't protect them, or me, from bomb damage!_

Kagome turned and slumped against the door. What was she supposed to do now? The library was an internal room, so there weren't any windows. _A phone! There has to be a phone!_ Who to call was the problem, as everyone was probably outside. Deciding it was her best bet, Kagome started the frantic search for a telephone. Spying one, her hope rose as she eagerly picked up the receiver and started to dial home. But there was no dial tone. The line was dead.

Frustrated and scared, Kagome slammed the phone back on the hook. Finding the brightest thing she could, which turned out to be a red duotang, Kagome slid it under the door, hoping it would attract someone's attention to the room. Until then, she was stuck.

_Trapped again. Only this time, without Inuyasha._ She wasn't sure why it was so much scarier being alone, even before she knew Inuyasha wasn't going to kill her. Trying to decide what to do with her time, Kagome walked back over to the ancient computer, hoping it had solitaire or some form of game. When it yielded no entertainment, she picked up one of the books and started reading. It wasn't about anything interesting, but it helped calm her swirling thoughts and steered them away from considering death by explosion.

And as always her thoughts turned to Inuyasha. Trapped in this musty cube, Kagome couldn't help but smile when she thought of him out there somewhere and free.

_Inuyasha…_

* * *

The fire alarm continued to sound as Kagome played her anagrams game on the back of what she was sure was a very historic manuscript. Bored out of her face and nearly deaf from the fire alarm, Kagome was sure she had been imagining it when she heard a knock on the door.

The knock came again. "Hello? Kagome?"

Kagome was now sure that she was delusional. It sounded just like… "Inuyasha?"

"Kagome! What the hell are you doing in here? Get the fuck out here now. Jesus Christ woman I knew you were helpless during codes, but really this is kind of extreme." Kagome couldn't believe it. This was their heart-stopping reunion and he was calling her an idiot!

"Oh you jerk!" She glared at him through the door. "Don't you think I would have left if I tried? It's the fire alarm! It caused the door to lock and now I'm stuck in here."

A moment of silence and some scuffling later, Inuyasha yelled at her "Move away from the door Kagome, I'm going to get it open."

Hastily moving a few bookshelf rows away, Kagome watched as the fireproof door gave way to Inuyasha, flying across the room and taking few shelves with it.

"Keh." Inuyasha brushed some dust off his clothes from the damage caused to the wall. Kagome stared at him like he was a ghost. Hell, he'd might as well be one.

"How the hell did you know I was in here?" She hadn't known she voiced the thought aloud until he turned to look at her.

"It's Sesshomaru's fault." He shrugged, casually walking towards her. "I was in his office when we found the bomb. We were just going to get rid of it but he decided it would be better publicity if there was a scare first. Apparently he's going for the sympathy vote." Inuyasha pulled a face, showing what he thought of that idea. "You weren't outside with the group and he knew you'd been working that day, so I came in to find you."

"What were you doing in Sesshomaru's office?" Kagome knew a slightly hysterical tone was coming into her voice. The man, er half-demon, you'd been thinking about for years does not just casually tell you that he was visiting your boss.

Inuyasha made a sound of frustration. "Can we wait and talk about this when we get outside?"

But Kagome had a feeling as soon as they got outside, she would be left alone again. So while she had him trapped inside, she wanted some answers. "No! Tell me Inuyasha, how do you know Sesshomaru?"

He sighed and looked nervous, his ears pinned low down to his head. "That bastard's my half-brother."

Kagome took a sharp intake of breath. She had always suspected that Sesshomaru was youkai, and his resemblance to Inuyasha had been uncanny, but she had never let herself see it. Now it was all too clear how related the two of them were.

"Did you…did you know I was working here?" Kagome clutched her hands to her chest, afraid at what his answer was. When he nodded, she pressed them against her heart, hoping to stifle the sound of it breaking.

"I've known since he started coming home smelling like you." Inuyasha's eyes grew distant and he let out a possessive growl "His suit jacket was always covered in your scent, so I asked him about. He played real fucking coy about it too. What a prick."

_Well, that did explain a few things._ Kagome took one of her hands from her heart and pressed it to her head. As eager as she had been for answers, she wished she had never asked. For an instant, she almost wished the bomb would go off. _He knew and he didn't care. He knew exactly where I was and never came to look for me. He…doesn't want me around him anymore. I…am alone._

She needed to get away from him. She needed to get out of here and cry. Inuyasha seemed to sense her distress and looked like he was debating if he should try to comfort her or not. So she shackled up her feelings and put on her best smile. It definitely felt more like a grimace, but she figured given the situation, that wasn't doing too bad.

"C'mon let's get going." She turned on her heel and marched out the ruined door. _Maybe I can transfer to a different politician? Or maybe to the publicity department? Somewhere where I'm out of the office as much as possible._ After this incident, she didn't want to see Inuyasha again.

"Hang on a second, Kagome." He grabbed her arm to halt her movements "What are you so upset about?"

The innocence in his curious gaze had her blood boiling "Why did you never talk to me!" She shrieked. _So much for playing it cool_. "I've been waiting for you, you bastard!"

It spilled out of her like hot water from a kettle "I look for you everywhere. I watch the news all the time hoping you're on it. And you can't even just stop by my desk and say hello?"

She whirled on him, poking him in the chest. "I hate you." A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye "You should have just left me in there to die."

Instead of looking apologetic, or even bewildered, Inuyasha looked furious "I told you I would come for you when it was safe. Kagome, half the youkai from that facility are still living on Sesshomaru's land because they can't be integrated yet. Hell, right now we're in a situation that proves to you how dangerous it would be for me to be around you."

He reached out to her, and in her weakness she let him cup a gentle hand on her face "The world isn't a kind place for youkai right now. Or for people who support them."

Indulging herself in his touch, Kagome sighed, "I just want to be with you Inuyasha. I don't care about the risks."

He drew his other hand up to cup the other side of her face "Just let me protect you Kagome. And this is the best way I know how."

Unable to resist any longer, Kagome drew her face towards his, meeting him halfway in a sweet kiss. Well that was very nice, but Kagome had been alone for too long now to be satisfied with a brushing of lips. Clutching at his shirt, she pulled Inuyasha closer, fusing her mouth against his. Running her tongue along the seam of his lips, he opened in surprise and she delved into his mouth, trying to memorize him.

Breaking apart, he smiled at her. "C'mon wench. Let's get you out of here."

Allowing him to pull her down the stairs and out the back exit, Kagome stared at their joined hands. Well at least she knew he was alive. But the question again became: What now? She didn't think she could keep living like this, always in the wings waiting for him.

When they were safely out of the building, she pulled his hand to make him stop.

"I can't keep waiting for you Inuyasha." He didn't look surprised at her confession, but his countenance became depressed.

Looking directly into his eyes, Kagome grasped both his hands in hers, giving it one last shot. "Let me stay by your side Inuyasha. We can face the risks together."

"Kagome…I…" his hands tightened on hers and she hoped for a minute he was going to say yes. "…I can't…" He let her hands drop.

Kagome backed away from him, clutching her heart once more "Don't do this Inuyasha. Please…"

They stared at each other, both pleading with the other to understand. It was a stalemate and neither was going to give up.

A sound, Kagome cannot remember what it was, drew her attention for just an instant. But the break in eye contact was enough. When she turned back to look for Inuyasha, he was already gone.

* * *

Kagome jumped back in surprise as her suitcase sprung open, spilling clothes all over the floor in her new house. After the incident with Inuyasha, she had been too scared to return to the office, so she faxed in her resignation. Sesshomaru had returned a surprisingly understanding response, offering a reference for whatever politician she happened to associate with next.

So she scoured the vicinity for another politician that matched her own political beliefs. Deciding to get as big of a change as possible, she had been contacted by a matronly mayor of a small town in the country that was looking for someone to help her integrate youkai. She said the townspeople were very sympathetic to the cause, but there was no infrastructure in place to support the addition of youkai.

Kagome eagerly accepted a position that would put her in charge of the whole Integration Division. All that was left was to pack up her life back there. It hadn't been much of a life, so except for exchanging promises to visit her family back at the shrine, she moved without too much grief.

Unpacking was not one of the things she enjoyed in life, but she bore it with patience as she placed carefully folded sweaters into their appropriate drawers. She spied her reflection in a small mirror hanging on the wall and gave her dusty appearance a small smile. _A new start, that's what this was. I can become someone else._

A knock on her front door drew her attention. Kagome had been a bit apprehensive about owning a house herself but Kaede, the mayor, had assured her there were some very resourceful young men kicking around to help her out.

Apparently one of these young men was currently knocking on her door. After opening it, Kagome was greeted by a friendly-looking, attractive young couple.

"Hello there." The woman smiled kindly, offering her hand which Kagome shook "I'm Sango, your next-door neighbour. This is my husband Miroku." The man waved and did not offer his hand "He isn't allowed to touch other women." Miroku gave a sheepish chuckle. _…O-kay…_

"They're a little weird, but you get used to it." Kagome blinked at the third voice and she looked down below her knees. There was an adorable fox demon, casually standing between the couple and sucking on a lollipop.

Kagome couldn't help herself. She bent down and scooped him up "You're so cute!" he grinned at the attention. "What's your name, little guy?"

"His name is Shippou." Miroku answered for her, shifting what looked like a casserole between his two hands "And you won't think he's so cute when he's playing his fox tricks on you."

A slightly evil smile formed on the little fox's face but Kagome still thought he was precious "Well Shippou is welcome to come over whenever he likes. This house is much too big for one person."

Sango and Miroku looked surprised. "You live alone?" Sango was the one to broach the awkward subject. Kagome stepped away from the door to allow them inside and set Shippou down. A two-tailed cat raced in between Sango's legs and Shippou chased it up the stairs. "Sorry about that, Shippou and Kirara seem to make themselves at home wherever they go."

"No problem. I meant it when I said he was welcome here any time. That also goes for both of you." Kagome smiled at them and Sango returned the grin. Miroku had already moved to go and put the casserole in her fridge. _Clearly the fox and cat weren't the only ones to make themselves at home wherever they went._

"So Kagome, what brings you to our humble town?" The three of them settled at Kagome's kitchen table, the only piece of furniture she had besides a bed and an armoire.

"Oh, you know. Itchy feet." She hoped they would leave it alone. Talking about Inuyasha was really not something she felt like doing. "I wanted the fresh air."

The pair gave her a joint sound of disbelief but thankfully left the issue alone. The identical look they gave each other made Kagome realize just how close they were. And it made her heart turn in jealousy.

"Whenever you want to talk about it, we're here for you." Sango gently took her hand, giving her a kind smile. Kagome squeezed it in thanks.

"Pardon me Kagome, but you don't seem to have any furniture?" Miroku asked politely, changing the subject while gazing around "I happen to be an expert shopper for this area, would you like some assistance purchasing items for your home?"

Kagome grinned at the idea "That sounds most excellent Miroku."

He started prattling on about colour ideas, Sango offering input at the odd time she had something to say. The distant rattle of Shippou and Kirara running upstairs also met her ears, but she was deaf to it all. For the first time in awhile, her heart didn't feel empty.

_I only wish Inuyasha was here…_

* * *

There weren't any codes at her new work. They didn't need them, they all shared cubicles in the same room. _Should a disaster happen, they would be close enough to whisper it to each other, let alone need a PA announcement._ And Kagome loved it.

The work here was easier of course, since the townspeople were already accepting of the youkai. It seemed many of them had been living here for years. Getting a school system arranged was presenting a bit of a problem, but Kagome eagerly tackled it, happy to have something to keep her busy.

But she loved just as much coming home. Shippou had basically moved in with her after the first few weeks. Sango was expecting a baby and he thought the house was going to get crowded. Kagome knew she spoiled the fox but she just couldn't help it. After Miroku told her the story of Shippou's parents' death and his capture, she just couldn't find it in her heart to deny him anything.

They didn't know the real day that Shippou was born, so Sango and Miroku allowed him to chose a date to serve the same purpose. And that day was today. Kagome had gotten off early from work to have extra time with him and she promised him they were going to do something extra special.

Parking her car in her driveway, Kagome exited the vehicle and carefully pulled a birthday cake from the passenger seat. Walking up the porch steps, she balanced it precariously on one hand while she reached for the doorknob with the other. She froze as she took in the scene on the other side of the door.

Inuyasha was holding Shippou up by his tail, yelling at him for something. Shippou was glaring at him just the same, shaking his tiny fist at the much larger half-demon. She couldn't hear any of their conversation for the blood pounding in her ears.

_Be careful what you wish for Kagome._ Her lips turned in a wry smile. When Inuyasha bopped Shippou on the head, Kagome snapped out of her daze. "What are you doing? Put Shippou down!"

Both pairs of eyes turned to her in surprise. Shippou let out a delighted squeal that turned into a painful oomph when he hit the ground. For his part, Inuyasha looked guilty and his head shot around like he was looking for an escape.

Setting the cake on the entryway table, Kagome eagerly caught Shippou who leapt into her arms. The brushed a hand through his thick tails, feeling a bit calmer. _I'm not alone anymore. I can do this._

"What are you doing here, Inuyasha?" She asked him calmly. He shoved his hands into his sweater sleeves and turned his face away from her, as if that would stop him from having to answer. _And to think, at one point I was actually scared of this guy._

"He comes by all the time." Shippou had apparently caught on that the half-demon wasn't welcome and he could use it to his advantage "He usually naps in your bed."

Kagome's eyes widened. _Her bed? Well, I guess that new detergent isn't as good as I thought it was. It does explain why I have been sleeping so well_. Inuyasha was still acting like he couldn't hear them, though a distinct blush coloured his face at Shippou's accusation.

"Kagome?" Shippou sounded worried. Kagome guessed she'd been silent for a while. To be honest, she had no idea what to do now. _Kick Inuyasha out? Invite him to stay?_ They both sounded unappealing. But today was Shippou's birthday, so…

"Well today is your birthday Shippou, what did you want to do?" _If Inuyasha is going to pretend he isn't here, then I'd might as well go along with it. No need to ruin the kid's birthday with this garbage._

Shippou caught on "I invited our neighbours over for a party. Miroku was excited to come over and said he had a special game he wanted the two of you to play."

Kagome winced. She'd definitely been too liberal with Shippou if he was having birthday parties without asking her.

"Miroku?" Surprisingly this was growled out by Inuyasha, "That man who is over all the time?" He looked upset and glared at her.

"Er, yeah. My next-door neighbour." Kagome was starting to feel a bit flustered, this was too much to deal with all at once. Before Kagome could explain that he was happily married and the like, her front door swung open to reveal said cheerful neighbour.

"Why Kagome you're home early. Come to help with the…" the rest of the sentence was lost as Miroku was now dangling above the floor, his neck trapped in Inuyasha's grip.

Miroku looked confused, although probably not as confused as he should. _I'm guessing he's met his share of jealous boyfriends in his day._ Kagome blanched _I did not just think that. Inuyasha is not my boyfriend. I thought I had given up on those thinking like that. Honestly, how much hurt can one heart take?_

"Hey Kagome I brought some…what the hell is going on here?" Sango looked furious at the state of her husband and she looked over at Kagome for some kind of explanation. Meanwhile Shippou was laughing away in her arms, clearly enjoying himself. Kagome shook her head to clear the confusion. Now was the time for her to take charge.

"Alright. Inuyasha put down Miroku. Sango, please don't smash that vase on Inuyasha's head. Shippou, you should have asked me before you had a party." She rounded on each guilty party in turn and they all looked penitent. Cradling Shippou in one arm, she pressed a hand to her head.

Setting Shippou on the ground, Kagome clapped her hands together. "Alright, we're going to have to get this party ready. Sango, I think I have a bunch of party-type foods in the freezer so can you get those cooking?" Sango grinned and left to do her appointed duty. "Miroku, I see Sango brought over some decorations. Can you put them up in the living room. Shippou, honey, why don't you go over and keep Kirara company while we set everything up." The three of them moved to do their assigned tasks, leaving only one nervous looking half-demon in the room.

"Inuyasha," she tried to keep the neediness out of her voice. He was as beautiful as ever. "You can either help, or get out."

He blinked in surprise, apparently waiting for something else. "Where are you going?"

She let out a sigh. "I'm going to have a bath. Today is going to be a long day."

* * *

Kagome flopped on one of her porch chairs in fatigue. The party was still going strong inside, but she needed a bit of a break. _Inuyasha, what are you doing here? _To say that his presence was strange was an understatement. And what was even stranger was that he hadn't escaped when he had the chance.

Shippou hadn't invited the whole town or anything, just many of their close neighbours. Although many of them gave Inuyasha an odd look, most were their usual jovial selves and either paid him no-never-mind or eagerly included him in conversation. The look of surprise at their acceptance had made Kagome smile.

"Kagome…" She looked over at the doorway and at the figure that just came through it. Inuyasha toyed with the hem of his sweater, a familiar gesture that softened her heart.

"Why don't you sit down, Inuyasha." She gestured at the chair beside her. "If we're going to talk about this, we had might as well be comfortable."

He slouched into the chair silently, looking at her expectantly.

She gave in to his silent prompt. "What are you doing here?"

"I…had to find you Kagome. I was going crazy." He looked off the porch "You know, even all those years we didn't talk, I still followed you around everywhere."

"What?!" Kagome's eyes widened. All those years she was alone, and he was really always by her side.

"I had to protect you! You're always getting in trouble." He looked satisfied when she growled in irritation at him. "And then you…took off. Left the city. And when I couldn't find you I…" He shrugged sheepishly.

_I really don't want to think about what kind of damage he caused. _Kagome reached over and took his hand off where it gripped the arm of the chair. "Where are you living?"

He shrugged "Out in the woods." Kagome was surprised when he smiled "I kind of like it. There's so much space out there. It's so different from…before…"

Kagome squeezed his hand in understanding. She couldn't believe she was being this nice to him. _But this was Inuyasha. He always found a way to tunnel into her heart._

Taking this as encouragement, he continued on "The bratty fox was actually the first one to spot me. I…er…" Inuyasha cleared his throat nervously "I had been sneaking in your window to sleep in your bed." His voice rose defensively "It's your fault. If you hadn't fallen asleep on me when we were trapped in that Code Yellow I wouldn't have depended so much on your scent to help me sleep. I can't help it if it's something you did to me."

When she voiced no reprimand, he sighed with relief "When I saw you were living with a youkai and nobody cared…I thought…well…"

"You decided to come waltzing back into my life?" the hurt was starting to return to Kagome. But even more than that, Kagome was tired of fighting with him.

"Kagome," he took her hands and leaned towards her, eyes shining with emotion "I…wanted to stay but…"

She sighed. _No use going over this again. _She had been happy living here, but she still missed him. Probably as much, if not more than he missed her. Was there a point to both of them being unhappy, just so she could make him as miserable as she had been? _I think we've both had enough misery to last a lifetime._

"Inuyasha." Apparently he had been talking, since his mouth was still open when Kagome interrupted him "Do you want to stay with me?"

He didn't hesitate. "Yes."

She shrugged "Then you can stay."

He looked at her in shock for a moment, then pulled her into his lap for a kiss. He rained kisses all over her face before claiming her mouth with his, massaging her lips in a sensuous pattern. His long fingers slid into her hair, tipping her head back to give him a better angle. Kagome pressed herself against him, hoping that she could make this moment last forever.

When they pulled back for air, Kagome's eye strayed to the front window. The front window that half the town was watching her make out through. She blushed and buried her head in Inuyasha's neck.

They stayed together in that chair while all the party guests filtered out, and endured much good-natured ribbing because of it. Shippou eventually hopped up to share it with them, quickly telling them about all the events they missed at the party. They stayed in the chair after Shippou went to bed. And as they watched the sunrise together, Kagome knew that life had never been this sweet.

When she started to doze off, Inuyasha scooped her up and carried her to bed. When he moved to leave the bedroom, she just smiled and pulled him back in. Kagome snuggled against him under the covers, and she felt him take a deep breath of her hair.

She laid her head softly on his chest, "Welcome home, Inuyasha. Welcome home."


End file.
